The possible use of chemical and/or biological warfare agents during a military action or terrorist attack presents a continuous threat to U.S. military and civilian personnel. The advances in the biotechnology area and the resulting ease of preparing significant quantities of infectious agents and biological toxins have further increased the chemical and biological warfare threat.
Anthrax has been identified as one of the most probable biological warfare agent terrorist threats. Typically, anthrax would be disseminated as an aerosol in a terrorist act. The mortality rate of exposed, untreated individuals is greater than 90% and would be expected to act in 1 to 7 days, with most deaths occurring within 48 hours. Anthrax spores are extremely hardy and can persist in the environment for more than 50 years. Many biological warfare agent decontaminants are not effective against anthrax spores.
In the event of an attack in which chemical and/or biological warfare agents are used, U.S. military personnel or civilian first responders may be directly exposed to such agents as they enter contaminated areas. There are several decontaminants currently available. However, these decontaminants are generally themselves hazardous materials to handle and dispose of and may not be effective against some agents. Further, the present decontaminants are stable for only very limited time periods. Still further, the present decontaminants are typically effective against only chemical or biological agents, but not both. Thus, protection of vulnerable populations requires storage and deployment of different types of protective agents to safeguard these populations against different attacks.
Recently, in addition to typical biological warfare agents, a further threat is the use of any microorganisms or toxins derived from microorganisms which cause disease in man, plants, or animals. Prior decontaminants are designed specifically for use against biological warfare agents and are not suitable for use against the many other types of pathogens that may be used.
There is a need for nonhazardous compositions that are effective in decomposing chemical and biological warfare agents. There is a further need for compositions that remain stable for extended periods of time and are easily applied to large surface areas. Additionally, there is a need for a single composition that is effective against both chemical and biological warfare agents. Still further, there is a need for a composition that is effective against all types of pathogens, not only biological warfare agents.